What is Advent?

Advent begins tomorrow, which raises the question for some: What is Advent? Advent starts the fourth Sunday before Christmas and concludes on January 6th which is Epiphany (although most Western Churches end it with Christmas).

Advent means coming... this is a season of expectation and preparation for the coming of Christ. This season gives us the unique time to look at the incarnation of Christ in his first coming and the joy and anticipation of his triumphant second coming.

The vestment/liturgical color is blue or purple for the royalty of Christ. Traditional Christmas hymns are typically played during Sunday worship and the Advent wreath is lit weekly until Christmas Eve.

Advent is my favorite time of year. The excitement is palpable. Anticipation is felt from toddlers to the elderly and everyone in between. The incarnation of Christ is one the most miraculous thing that has happened. Because of the incarnation, we are saved through the eventual work on the cross.

I pray that the Advent season finds you happy, healthy and more importantly seeking after the incarnate Christ who loved you enough to come to earth.

Lesson on Loss

How do we teach little ones about the inevitability of death? How do we teach them that loss is a part of life? For many of us our first loss was a pet. A goldfish can be easily replaced. But a dog, a best friend, their first friend... how do you explain that? The Bible clearly talks about a time for life and a time for death (Ecclesiastes). But how do you tell a two and a half year old that.

I am praying fervently for a small friend of mine along with her momma who have had to say goodbye to their dog today.

Early for Advent

Advent starts a week from today. I am ready! Advent is my favorite time of year. The anticipation, the hope, the love, the warmth, the joy... all of it. I will be blogging for Advent as soon as it starts because deep down I know that I am too early right now.

Just Another Day

Do you ever just feel like its just another day? A day like all the rest, nothing unusual, nothing interesting... these feelings  soon lead to discontentment. Once I am discontent there is more of a chance for trouble (I assume I am not the only one.) With Jesus, there doesn't have to be any ordinary days. He can show you new things each day, things to be excited about- things to be content in Him. Here's to not being bored or discontent or to having just another day. Here's to following the ever exciting Christ.

Question

I was asked a serious question several weeks ago and today I put that same question before you for you to consider: When you gave your heart to Christ, did you mean it? 

If you answered yes, I have bad news for you. However, I also have great news for you. Bad news first, you will suffer. Ephesians 6:19-20 says "[pray] also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,  for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak." Paul was in literal chains, in prison. Nonetheless, Jesus told his disciples "remember when the world hates you they hated me first" (John 15:18). There is nothing vague about that statement. We will be hated and hatred leads to suffering. 

The good news is we are coheirs with Christ and one day this painful world will pass away and we will go to a place of no more pain, crying or dying (Revelation 21:4). 

Each morning I have to look myself in the face and ask: Did you mean it when you gave your heart to Christ? When I answer yes, I cannot be surprised by hatred, suffering or trials. But I can hold on to the promise that I will one day be in the presence of the Almighty. 

Undercover Boss

I love the show Undercover Boss. It lets a guy worth a few million dollars see how his minimum wage employees really work/live. Hebrews reminds us to show hospitality to strangers because they may be angels and we are unaware. This show always reminds me that things aren't always what they seem, but things could be so much greater than the face value. At the end of the show, the boss reveals his true identity and gives away thousands of dollars. At the end of this life, we will be in heaven to see every deed we did and word we spoken in clarity that we cannot comprehend. How did I treat the strangers in my midst?

Pregnancy Pains

Anyone who has experienced pregnancy can say that there are times of pain. However, that is really not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about other people's pregnancy causing me pain. My Facebook newsfeed this morning was full of ultrasound pictures and news of doctors' appointments. I feel guilty because I want to hide all pregnancy news from my feed. I don't want to read about it. I don't want to see pictures of your child while it is still growing inside of you. I want to scream from the top of my lungs, "YOUR PREGNANCY HURTS PEOPLE! CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING PREGNANT PERHAPS YOU CAN GO 30 HOURS WITHOUT POSTING SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!" 

Okay, rant over... Trying to remember Isaiah 54:1-5

1 "Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband," says the LORD. 2 "Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. 3 For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities. 4 "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. 5 For your Maker is your husband-- the LORD Almighty is his name-- the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.

What Will You Do?

Today I was reminded of a good song: 

What will you do with the time that's left Will you live it all with no regret? Will they say that you loved till your final breath? What will you do with the time that's left? 
Oh, Hallelujah! Oh, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Amen 
What will you do with the time that's past? Oh and all the pain that seems to last? Can you give it to Jesus and not look back? What will you do with the time that's past? 
Oh, Hallelujah! Oh, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Amen 
What will He say when your time has come? When He takes you into His arms of love? With tears in His eyes will He say well done? What will He say when your time has come? 
Oh, Hallelujah! Oh, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! (Lord be present in all my ways, help me follow You all my days oh Father God) Amen 
What will you do with the time that's left? Will you live it all with no regret Will they say that you loved till your final breath? What will you do with the time?

We have a limited  time on earth... very limited. In the span of history, our life is a mere breath. I am challenged today to examine what I am want to do with the time I have left. What will you do?

 

Praying for Others

Colossians 1:9 says, "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives"

How often do you pray for your friends? Some people we pray for daily, perhaps your pastor or a member of your Bible study who is struggling. But how often do you pray that your friends and acquaintances are filled with the knowledge of God's will? How often do you approach the throne of God asking for the wisdom and understanding of the Spirit to overflow the hearts of those around you. Paul says that he has never stopped praying for the Colossians. We should take after Paul and never stop praying for each other. 

Suffering

Profound is the intersection of Christ's suffering and our own. We often overlook the presence of Christ in our deepest, darkest hurts. 

In Isaiah we read, "He grew up before him like a tender shoot,  and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,  nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.He was despised and rejected by mankind,  a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain  and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God,  stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." (emphasis added)

The theology of the cross is rooted in suffering. How then can we assume that God is most deeply met on the other side of suffering instead of in the midst of suffering? Jesus suffered in ways that we cannot begin to imagine. Where there is suffering, Christ is there. Isaiah makes it clear that Jesus bore all the suffering on the cross. Therefore, in the midst of the hardest things of life the cross is clearly there too. It is up to recognize the hand of God even when things that are terrible.

Paul talks about the fellowship of suffering leading to grace (Philippians 3). While this is true, there is a greater dimension than just grace. There is commonality with Christ. In our suffering, we are more like Christ than we realize. Christ begged for the cup of the cross to pass from him, but then told His Father (and ours) that it was not his will but God's that he wanted. How often do we beg for our trials, suffering and pain to pass from us? How often do we overlook the second part of Christ's request? Do we often ask God that His will be done even if it means our temporary discomfort? As finite humans, we cannot determine what is good and what is evil. However, we do know that all things work together for good; so the suffering that we encounter will be used by God.

Look closely again at the cross and tell me that the suffering was not worth it. I realize that is an absurd request. We know quite well that the suffering on the cross brought redemption to the world. 

I have many times asked why must I go through a certain obstacle. Perhaps that is the wrong question. Maybe in the middle of a trial I should ask: How am I responding to my current situation? Is it the right way to respond? Am I learning something from this? Am I showing my faith in God, my love for Christ and my commitment to follow him? 

There is a deeper answer in the why. Why is there suffering in general? Well, we are living in a fallen world. We sometimes suffer as a result of our own sin. Other times it is a bigger part of God's plan or discipline. There is no one answer to why suffering and pain are a part of this life. Therein-lies the problem of theodicy (a topic for another day).

Yes, suffering is painful and perplexing. Yet, if we let it, suffering can be purposeful. We must learn to use our deepest pains as a witness to God's unending faithfulness.

I Want to Follow

Ten years ago, when this picture was taken, I wanted to follow God with all that I had. This is true today too, but it is so different at 29 than it was at 19. I know longer want to be a United Methodist bishop some day. I am not a student. I want to be a writer. The desire to write for God and for education is overwhelming.

If you would have told me all the places I would follow the wrong motives, I wouldn't have believed you. Had you postulated the difficulties I would be facing, I would have been defensive and hurt. However, the truth is when I haven't followed God my life has gotten messed up. The truth is only God can give me a path worth following.

The Beauty of Silence

I love quiet evenings. Just to be still and listen to God, life and the dreams of my heart. They always remind me that God wasn't in the earthquake or the violent wind. He was in a still small voice...

What Christians Have Forgotten

I believe all Christians, myself included, have forgotten something extremely important. What is it? "That all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" Romans 3. I have sinned more than I care to admit. I also have some emotional and mental difficulties that make life harder for me than I would like it to be. However, is my sin worse than someone who gossips? Is my sin worse than that of an adulterer? Is my sin on the same level as a murderer? Well, the sucky thing is all sin is the same in God's eyes except for the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. So, no, my sin isn't worse, but it isn't better or different than the sin of anyone else. I shouldn't view anyone else's sin differently than my own. We ALL need Christ's forgiveness and each other's grace. Do we deserve it? No, absolutely not. Is it understandable if people don't forgive? Yes, unfortunately, just like I have grudges against people...

As for me, I am going to spend the day trying to be grateful that God's justification, redemption and salvation for me. I am also going to try to extend forgiveness in my heart for the bitterness I feel towards some people.